


Healing Of Body And Mind

by InfiniteNirvana



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Blindness, Fluff, Good Lotor, M/M, healthy lancelot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-01-29 19:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12637959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteNirvana/pseuds/InfiniteNirvana
Summary: Lance was met with darkness when he opened his eyes. His head was hurting and as soon as he tried to sit up he noticed that the rest of his body was, too. Hissing, he brought a hand to his head, only to be met with some kind of cloth. Bandages? What happened? Where was he? He wanted to stand up further, but his leg seemed to be bandaged up, too, a sharp pain running through it. "Oh, you're awake." Lance jumped a bit at the sudden voice. He didn't recognise it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I just got this idea and decided to actually write it down...might get continued, but it will take me ages, probably. Because this already took me ages^^  
> Hope you enjoy!

Lance was met with darkness when he opened his eyes. His head was hurting and as soon as he tried to sit up he noticed that the rest of his body was, too. Hissing, he brought a hand to his head, only to be met with some kind of cloth. Bandages? What happened? Where was he? He wanted to stand up further, but his leg seemed to be bandaged up, too, a sharp pain running through it. "Oh, you're awake." Lance jumped a bit at the sudden voice. He didn't recognise it, it was deep and smooth and he just felt even more confused. "Who are you? Where am I? What...what happened?", Lance asked. His throat felt dry. How long had he been out? It took a moment for the voice to speak again: "You're on my ship. Who I am is of no importance. You got too close to an explosion and I happened to find you. You didn't look like you'd make it much longer so I brought you here.". Lance was trying to process the words through his headache. "Uh...thank you for saving me, then.", Lance answered, smiling slightly. He heard steps. The other person was probably approaching him and it made Lance uneasy to not be able to see it.

His saviour stopped and Lance wondered how far away he was standing from where Lance was sitting. "How are you feeling?" "I'm...a bit dizzy. My leg is hurting..." Lance coughed, his voice breaking. A hand took hold of Lance's own hand, bringing it to something that felt somewhat like a glass. He took the glass with a nod, drinking. It tasted too sweet but Lance couldn't care less and finished his drink in no time, his dry throat starting to feel much better. "Yes, your leg isn't completely healed yet...but the rest of your bones are back to normal. You shouldn't overdo it though..." The voice trailed off, as if pondering whether it should go on or not. Lance furrowed his eyebrows, flinching at the unexpected pain it the slight movement inflicted on him. "What about my head?", he asked, tracing the bandages wrapped around it. There was a long break before the voice answered: "You weren't wearing your helmet and hit it very hard. It...", another break. Was he nervous? His saviour being nervous about filling Lance in on his state couldn't be a good sign. "What? What is it?". Did his brain suffer some severe damage? But he could still remember who he was and where he was, or rather, where he should be. Only the memory of the accident he apparently got in weren't there.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the person speaking again: "You...damaged your eyes badly. I'm afraid my healers couldn't save them. I...I am very sorry...", the voice did sound sorry, but Lance didn't quite understand why. The words made no sense, he thought, touching his eye carefully though the bandages. It stung. Lance furrowed his brows, mumbling: "What...what do you mean by that?". Lance started undoing the bandages, his hands shaking slightly. Finally, the bandages fell off his face and nothing changed. Lance had been waiting for the light hurting his eyes, to see whoever was standing before him. But everything was black. His eyes were open, right? He was starting to  panick, his body shaking. He forced his eyes open widely, moving his head around. It hurt. Maybe the room was just very dark? He was trying to come up with an excuse, anything. It couldn't be, could it? Carefully, Lance brought his shaking hands to his eyes. He could not see them. Slowly, he touched the skin around his eyes. It hurt. It felt like a mess. Cuts, most of them already starting to scar, seemed to be running all over his eyes, his face. He must look hideous. Not that he's be able to see it. Right, the person had actually meant the words literally. Lance was blind. He couldn't see and, according to the person standing before him, he wouldn't be able to see ever again. Would he even be able to fly his lion like this? Now he was truly useless. A blind sharpshooter on a stranger's ship. He probably couldn't even escape if he wanted. It would take ages to find his way around without seeing anything.

 

A sob escaped Lance, his nails digging into the sensitive skin, making him flinch lightly. He could feel tears running down his face. So he could still cry. Not that that helped much. Would it be worth it to escape? Would he not be more of a burden to his friends? In the unlikely event of him making it back to them, of course. He would probably just end up feeling even more like the seventh wheel than before. Or worse. Was there something worse than feeling utterly useless? He sobbed, shaking uncontrollably. Lance jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He had forgotten about the other person in the room already: "You should try to get some more rest.". Lance looked up again, trying to look at the source of the voice. He didn't succeed, of course, which only frustrated him more. "Why?", Lance answered, his voice breaking. He really did feel tired. Maybe he would even wake up to find out that all of this was just a nightmare. "So your body can fully recover, of course.", the answer came, the voice sounding slightly confused. Lance mumbled softly: "Not that I'd be of much use even if I can walk again...". There was silence for a moment, the hand leaving Lance's shoulder. "One of my best fighters can't see. It's a matter of getting used to it, it will need time but if you really want to, you will be able to do whatever you've been doing before the accident.". With a softer voice, Lance's saviour added: "But for now it'd be enough if you would give your body the rest it needs." Soft steps made their way to where probably the door to the room was. Lance felt exhausted. He laid back down, barely keeping his eyes open, his body unbelievably heavy. He heard a door open and close before falling into a deep sleep.

 

 

Lance didn't know how long he had been asleep, but he felt much better when he woke up. Again, he heard the door open and close. Steps. The same steps from before. "You're already awake.", the voice stated, sounding surprised. "Well, I don't know for how long I've been out since I got here, but I can't just sleep all the time, you know.", Lance smiled, just a little. He did wonder how long he had been away from his friends. Where they searching for him? "I guess you are right...I brought you something to eat while I look at your leg." Lance hadn't noticed he was hungry until hearing the word ‘eat’. He was starving. He heard the steps approach and sat up in bed. "What's on the menu?", he asked, grinning. To Lance's surprise, the voice chuckled. "You'll find out soon.", was the answer Lance got. "My favourite.", Lance grinned. Lance felt something cool against his hand and grabbed it carefully, feeling it with his hands. It was a bowl. "Here.", the voice said, putting something that felt like a spoon into his other hand. "Don't eat too fast." Lance rolled his eyes. Now the stranger was starting to sound like his mother. It was a challenge to eat without seeing the food, the bowl or the spoon, so that, in the end, Lance was forced to eat slowly. It tasted amazing, whatever goo-y stuff it was. Or maybe Lance was just _really_ hungry.

He was so concentrated on his food that he barely felt his saviour observing his leg. Had it not been for the occasional light touches Lance did notice, he could've sworn the person had just left the room after bringing him his food. "It looks much better. You will probably be able to walk again soon.", Lance heard him say, a smile clearly audible. There was silence for a moment and Lance wished he'd continue speaking. The voice helped keeping his negative thoughts at bay. "Oh, I forgot to ask for your name, I think.", Lance heard him say after a moment. "Well, you didn't tell me yours.", Lance answered, a grin playing at his lips. "You can choose to not answer, I just noticed I forgot to even ask." "How rude of you!", Lance said, chuckling. His name wasn't really important, people usually knew him as the blue paladin. Considering his saviour had seen his suit he probably already knew that anyways. Meaning Lance had nothing to lose by telling this person his name. "The name's Lance.", he ended up saying, adding: "You don't happen to want to give me yours now?" "No.", came the answer. The voice sounded like the person was smirking. Lance sighed exaggeratedly, grinning: "So mysterious." The person laughed, making Lance smile. It was a pleasant sound.

He kept Lance company, asking him about how he liked the food and about how different it was from the one from his home planet, sounding genuinely curious. Lance didn't really notice the time passing, trying to explain the food he used to eat at home the best he could. "I think I should go and let you rest then." Lance wanted to tell him to stay a bit longer, but decided to just nod. He was getting tired, and maybe he wasn't the only one. Lance heard him taking his leave, looking into the direction of where the steps were disappearing. Being left alone with his thoughts had never been a good thing for Lance. It took him ages to finally fall asleep and even in sleep, he was restless.

 

 

Lance shot up in bed. He was drenched in sweat and his heart was racing, the nightmare he just woke up from still clinging to him. He blinked multiple times, but his eyes did not seem to get used to the darkness. Before he could panic any further, he heard a voice saying: "You were tossing around violently so I woke you up...are you alright?". Slowly, Lance started to remember. He mumbled: "Yes...just a bad dream.". A sigh escaped him as he ran his fingers through his hair. His heart was still beating fast. "You're shaking...", his saviour said, obviously not convinced about Lance being alright. Lance smiled a little, speaking again, trying to sound a bit more convincing: "Just give me a moment...". He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. It wasn't working too well and the person standing beside his bed noticed, putting a hand on Lance's shoulder. "Would...would it help if I stayed with you?", the voice asked softly. He sounded unsure and shy, obviously not quite comfortable with voicing the question. It reminded Lance of all those times his little brother had come to his room on stormy nights, timidly asking if he could sleep in Lance's bed. Lance smiled fondly at the memories. He remembered well doing the exact same thing with his older siblings when he was having bad dreams. In the end, he always ended up sleeping better when he wasn't alone. His silence was probably making his saviour even more uncomfortable since Lance could hear him shift, maybe running a hand through his hair. Lance chuckled a little. Feeling sorry for not answering the question for so long, he finally nodded: "Yes,". Lance could nearly feel the tension disappear, a relived sigh leaving the person standing beside his bed. Lance smirked a little. How cute. More shifting was audible. Was he removing his clothes? Lance blushed slightly at the thought. He was _really_ curious about how his saviour looked. Maybe he was missing something truly amazing right now. His blush only deepened at the thought. He heard steps walking around the bed. Lance felt the other climbing into the bed, the weight making Lance's side of the mattress rise. Lance got the feeling the person next to him was much taller than himself. Too tired to think much of it, Lance laid back down, feeling the body next to him move, probably trying to find a comfortable position. They weren't touching, but close enough for Lance to feel the heat radiate from the form the person beside him. He felt calmer already. He closed his eyes and fell asleep moments later.

 

Lance woke up the next morning because something was tickling his face. Hair? He opened his eyes, wrinkling his nose. Definitely hair. But how was it so soft? Lance frowned, feeling a little jealous. Maybe he could ask about the products his saviour used to keep it like this. Though right now he'd love to have it out of his face. The breathing coming from the other side of the bed sounded like the owner of the hair was still asleep. Lance didn't want to wake him but he had to find a way to scratch his nose. Lance laid still, trying to somehow estimate how much space there was for him to move his hands without touching the body beside him. The breathing didn't even seem that close. How long was that hair?! Lance was about to move when he heard the person beside him stir. He heard weight shifting and, the next moment, the hair was out of Lance's face. "Good morning.", came a mumble from beside Lance. The already deep voice sounded even deeper from sleep so that Lance _felt_ the words rather than hearing them. Lance shook that thought off, chirping: "Morning!". Lance felt the person leave the bed. "I'm going to get us something to eat.", he yawned, leaving the room.

He came back soon after, putting a bowl into Lance's hand. "Thanks.", Lance said, smiling at him. They started eating in silence. Lance guessed his saviour wasn't a morning person. When Lance was done, he finally spoke up: "I brought you crutches. I have a few things to do now but if you want I can show you around the ship later.", he said, smiling. "Uh, sure.", Lance said unable to hide his surprise at those words. Showing him around? He had never imagined leaving this room, much less being shown around by the person keeping him in it. He blinked a few times. His saviour took his bowl and replaced it with something cold. "The crutches.", his saviour said, closing Lance's hands around one part of what Lance guessed was the crutches. Lance nodded, probably enjoying the touch of the warm hands a bit too much. Such soft skin. He was getting more and more curious about how this person looked like. Lance heard him get up and say "I'll come by later. Feel free to try them out.". Lance heard him leave and waited until he heard the door close again. Then, he tried to get up with the help of the crutches. It was a bit tricky. They seemed to be quite like the ones Lance knew from earth, but the last time Lance used crutches back home was when he broke his foot in 6th grade. And back then he could _see_ what he was doing. When he finally did get the hang of it he was met with the next problem: He couldn't see his way. Slowly, he took a few tentative steps, afraid of walking into something or tripping over something. He sighed. This might be more complicated than anticipated.

Lance took his time to walk around his room. It wasn't too big and, thankfully, except for the bed, a small table beside it and a chair next to the table there wasn't much in the room. Lance passed the door of the room, feeling the wall in search for the button to open it. To his surprise, the door actually opened. Lance furrowed his brows in confusion. Of course, Lance had been treated more like a guest than a prisoner. It still threw him off a bit. Was he not still a prisoner? Or something like it at least? He stood at the open door, wondering if leaving the room was a good idea. Would the alarm go off? How big was the ship even? Would he get lost? Would he walk straight into a wall? Okay, latter wasn't too probable, he guessed. Taking a deep breath, Lance decided to take the chance and step out. He held his breath, waiting for an alarm to go off. Nothing happened. Weird. Carefully, Lance started walking, without a real destination. He just wanted to move. After two or three steps he would stop, using his hands to see if there were any obstacles in his way. The walls of the ship felt fairly normal, just like any other ship.

Lance found out that, even if he stopped to feel the walls, it was pretty difficult to remember his way without seeing his surroundings. He furrowed his brows, wondering if he could find his way back to his room from where he was right now. He hadn't met anyone yet. It was really strange. He could be the only one on the ship beside his saviour, could he? The ship seemed to be fairly big, too. Not as big as the Castle-ship of course. Suddenly, Lance heard something approach. Steps. His heart started racing. Shit. All the doors he had passed in the last few minutes had been closed. What would happen if somebody found him outside of his room? He hadn't been treated like a prisoner until now. The door hadn't been locked. Right, it was his saviour’s fault he got out. Lance simply walked out because the door was open. It's not like he was trying to run away. Or to run in general. He could hear the steps approaching and he was clutching his crutches. He was about to start his explanation for being where he was when a familiar voice said: "Oh, I guess you got impatient waiting for me.”. Laughing. Relieve washed over Lance. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Grinning, he answered: "Well yeah, it took you too long and I felt like I was going to die of boredom in that room.". He heard the person come to a stop next to him, chuckling lightly. "Well, can you find your way back from here? Or should we start from your room? I don't want you to get lost on one of your walks.". Lance looked at him, tilting his head slightly: "So...you don't mind me walking around here?" "Why would I mind you walking around? It was me that made that possible, after all.", the answer came, and Lance could hear the grin. Well, he had a point. Lance now felt a little stupid, feeling his face heating. He lowered his head quickly, hiding his blush and mumbling a 'Jus' wanted to make sure'. The deep chuckle only made it worse. "Then let's start at your room. Do you want to show the way?", the voice said more softly. Lance raised his head quickly, nodding confidently: "Sure!". He started to make his way, the uncertainty he had felt only minutes ago forgotten.

 

It took them quite some time to get back to Lance's room. He hadn't realised he had been walking for that long. Lance was actually already feeling a little exhausted. He didn't say anything, of course. "Let's go.", his saviour said, showing the way. Lance followed the sound of his steps. His guide was explaining him where they were, showing him all the different rooms. They were silent for most of the walk and Lance had time to think again. He tried to not but he couldn't stop thinking about how difficult it was to concentrate on where he was going. Would he really be of any use if he couldn't even find his way? He would probably always be late every time the alarm went off in the Castle-ship. Every time his thoughts would turn dark his saviour would start talking to him. It was rather creepy, to be honest. Lance knew he was easy to read, but _that_ easy? Maybe it was just a coincidence. Did Lance become even more obvious to read somehow? He shook his head. Maybe he just had to try to hide his emotions a little better.

 

 

"And this is where you'll find me, should you ever need something...or just feel like chatting.", the voice said after they both stepped into yet another room. Again, Lance could hear the smile, making himself smile, too. "I'll get us something to eat, take a seat. I bet your arms must be hurting by now.", Lance heard him say. He nodded, answering: "Sounds good enough to me.”, he grinned. Lance started to search for a chair, sitting down on the first one he could find. It was a very comfortable chair and Lance realised how tired he was. His arms where _arching_. He sighed, sinking deeper into the chair and closing his eyes. He wondered if he could remember everything he had been shown today.

His saviour came back soon and they both ate in silence. It wasn't awkward, though. Lance enjoyed it actually, even though he wasn't really one to enjoy silence usually. After they finished eating, his saviour brought Lance back to his room. Lance sat down on the bed, sighing. He was really tired. Furrowing his brows, he looked up to the door. "You're not coming in?", he asked. He was pretty sure he had heard him stop by the door. "I...", he stopped and Lance felt like he could hear him shift uncomfortably, "You want me to?". Something about how he said that made a blush rise to Lance's face. An awkward silence filled the room and Lance nodded quickly before it became unbearable. He didn’t want to be left alone with his thoughts. It took another moment before he heard the steps approaching. Lance felt him sit down next to him on the bed. More silence. Lance couldn't think of anything to say to break it. He heard the person next to him shift, laying down. Lance laid down, too, closing his eyes. He was tired, but sleep wasn’t coming. A sigh escaped him. He started concentrating on to the breathing of the person beside him, felt the warmth radiating from the body beside him. And suddenly really felt like he needed a hug. Lance sighed. Would he freak out if Lance got a bit closer? He pondered for a little longer. Tentatively, he shifted closer to the body beside him. Not getting any reaction from the person beside him, Lance leaned his head against what he guessed was his saviour’s arm or shoulder. He felt the body stiffen. Lance felt a little sorry for him, but it was so comfortable, so warm. He sighed, starting to feel sleep taking over his tired body. The last thing he registered was fingers running through his hair.

 

It became somewhat of a routine for Lance. Waking up to cold fingers running through his hair. Wandering aimlessly around the ship. He had no idea how long he’d been on this ship and he was restless. Nothing had happened. Nothing including the fact that nobody came for him. Why? Couldn’t they find him? Surely they were searching for him, right? Surely they missed him? Right? They didn’t know of his state yet. Didn’t know he’d be more of a burden now. He sighed.

It hadn’t taken long for his leg to completely heal. He was rather confident in walking around the ship by now and didn’t get lost. He also stopped being paranoid about running into somebody. The only other person on this ship beside him on the ship seemed to be his saviour. Lance did ask him about it on one of the occasions he would go to the room where his saviour seemed to spend most of his time. The bridge, Lance assumed. Or rather, he was sure about it by now. He had spent countless hours in there the last few days, asking questions, keeping the conversation going, keeping his mind off his friends. Considering all those hours spent talking he still knew very little about his mystery saviour. He didn’t really say much about himself. Sometimes Lance would get uncomfortable silence as an answer when he asked something. That was exactly what happened when he asked him about the lack of people on the ship. Lance had probably struck a nerve and decided to not pry any further.

 

“Ready for another training session?”, Lance  heard the familiar voice say when he entered the room where he had probably spent most of his time lately. Lance grinned, looking up to look at the direction the voice came from. “I’m up to it.”, Lance answers, walking up to stand opposite to his saviour. Lance had been reluctant to agree to training sessions with his saviour. He couldn’t really imagine how it would go and didn’t want to make a fool of himself. In the end he had agreed to the training because he hoped it would keep his mind off of the fact that nobody had come for him. And it did help. His opponent was pretty fast for his stature. He was definitely taller than Lance and their training showed he was stronger than Lance, too. There was no time for Lance to let his mind wander during training. He needed all the concentration he could muster to block the hits and kicks coming from his opponent.

 

It had taken quite a lot of hours training not only his body but also his senses to be able to come to the point of block anything. Fighting without being able to see was completely different from what he learned in the Garrison. He couldn’t break the rule of ‘never losing sight of his opponent’. It didn’t matter if he was looking into the _direction_ of whoever he was fighting. He didn’t see anything. What he had was his hearing, which definitely became better lately. He got much better at telling the directions of where sounds came from and, in general, seemed to be able to hear much better. The slightest shift in his saviour’s breathing, the humming of the machinery on the ship. It was rather amazing, even though it made sleeping difficult at first. Or, more difficult.

 

Lance had just managed to actually land a kick while dodging a punch when a deafening sound made him jump. An alarm? Before Lance could find his voice to ask, he heard his saviour leave the room quickly. Did he just swear under his breath? The tone did sound like it. Confused, Lance followed him as fast as he could. “What...what was that?”, he asked as soon as he entered the room, walking up to where his saviour was surely sitting. “You’re friends are close. Do you want to go?”

 

His friends? Lance nodded before really understanding the meaning of the words. His saviour sighed, getting up from his chair and taking Lance’s hand and leaving the bridge with him. Lost in thoughts, Lance let himself get dragged along. Did his friends really come for him?

He nearly stumbled over his own feet when his saviour finally came to a stop. Where were they? “Give me a moment.”, his saviour said, “I’ll just to finish the ship. I’ll send them a signal so they will know who you are.”, he mumbled. What was that in his voice? Lance couldn’t quite put it, but his saviour certainly didn’t sound very happy. Lance furrowed his brows in confusion. He was about to voice his confusion when he suddenly felt a hand on his cheek. He blinked, confused. “All set.”, his saviour mumbled. Lance looked up, still wondering about that weird something in the other’s voice. It sounded like he was holding something back. Lance let his saviour help him into the ship, before finally asking: “You okay?”. There was a little break before he got an answer: “I...we probably won’t see each other again. I figured I should tell you...”, another break, “My name is Lotor. I’m, Zarkon’s son.”.

 

“You wha-“, Lance managed to get out before he heard the door close completely. The ship was flying into space on itself but Lance couldn’t even care less because _did he just hear right_. Lotor? Zarkon’s son?


	2. Chapter 2

His head was spinning. Was he even awake? His eyes wouldn’t open but he could feel his body move, stumble. Fall. Or rather, starting to fall. Something stopped him. Someone. “Careful.”, he heard a far too familiar voice say. Confused, Lotor finally managed to open his eyes only to be surprised by who was holding him upright.

“Lance?”, his own voice sounded odd and he furrowed his eyebrows. Was he dreaming after all? Lotor stared down at Lance in confusion. He looked too real to be a dream. Most of the scars on his face were nothing more than thin white lines contrasting his beautiful tan skin. They healed well. Lance was not quite looking at Lotor’s face, his milky blue eyes unfocused. Again Lotor wished he could’ve seen those eyes before the accident. They must’ve been breathtaking.

“Live and in colour!”, Lance said, grinning. “Feeling steadier?”, he added, slowly letting go off Lotor. “Y-Yes.” Lotor answered, straightening himself. For the first time he looked around. White walls. He was on a ship, but not one he’d recognise. “Where am I?” Lotor asked, looking back at Lance. He still wasn’t completely sure he wasn’t dreaming. Maybe this dream was just much more vivid.

Lance chuckled: “I feel like our roles have switched since the last time.”, he looked up at Lotor again. “You were stabbed and I happened to find you, already unconscious. Couldn’t just leave you after you went out of your way to save me and everything...”, he said, tone serious.

Right. He did remember that. He remembered his fight with Haggar. The pain that cut his argument off. Seeing her leaving him to die. His jaw tightened. It had been an obvious trap.

“Are you alright?”, Lance said, pulling Lotor out of his thoughts. He looked back at Lance, nodding slightly: “Yes...” “Then we should go. My friends are probably waiting for us.”. He didn’t look happy at all saying that. Lotor raised an eyebrow: “You...don’t sound too excited about it.”. Lance sighed: “Well...Don’t expect a warm welcome; they weren’t too happy with me brining you here.”, he mumbled, starting to walk out of the room, gesturing to Lotor to follow him. Lotor followed slowly. He hadn’t thought about that. Of course he wouldn’t be welcome here. He was the son of the enemy after all.

Lance seemed to have no problem finding his way on this ship. Rather impressive, considering how big it seemed to be. Lotor tried to take it all in, the light walls and floor and just all the _white_. So very different from Galra ships. They stopped after a couple of minutes. Glancing at Lance, Lotor noticed he still looked uneasy. For a moment Lotor wondered if he’d have to actually worry about losing his head as soon as the door opened. Lance _had_ mentioned that a few of his friends were more than a little hot-headed, but could their temper really be that short? He sure hoped that Lance’s reaction was just exaggerated.

Flashing him a bright smile, Lance said: “Let’s get this over with.”. The smile didn’t quite cover up his nervousness, bringing a grin to Lotor’s lips. Definitely sounded like a good idea.

Lance opened the door and whatever conversation had been going on behind the doors died down, six pairs of eyes staring at them in silence. Lance entered the room, Lotor following closely behind. Lotor met their gazes. They were all wary, tense, eyes never leaving Lotor. Some looked downright furious. And the angriest-looking – the Altean princess Lance had told him about – was also the first one to break the silence with a sharp “You could’ve at least handcuffed him, Lance.” and making Lance jump a little beside Lotor. Before Lance could start arguing about it Lotor decided to cut in: “Well, you can still do that if you feel like it is necessary.”, he said, holding out his arms. Lance looked like he was about to protest and the princess shot Lotor an angry glare. He held it. She didn’t say anything, but Lotor could tell that she was only waiting for one wrong step, a single misleading movement from his side, to start a fight. He couldn’t really blame her but he was still slightly offended by her hostility.

It was the tallest of the group that finally stepped forward, something Lotor could only guess being handcuffs in his hand. Lotor guessed that that was probably the leader of the paladins. Lance had mentioned a scar on his face, if he recalled correctly. He approached Lotor carefully, but not short on confidence. His expression didn’t give away much, he was probably trying to keep a cool head and keep the situation from escalating. Lotor didn’t move while the paladin cuffed him, never leaving his guard down. Lotor sensed the others in the room getting ready to attack, should it be necessary.

It wasn’t, of course and apparently having Lotor restrained seemed to relax everyone in the room a little. The black paladin turned to Lance next: “Lance, we need to question him.”. Lance crossed his arms in front of his chest and seemed to be fighting a pout. Lotor bit his lip to keep a grin from spreading on his own face. Lance looked adorable. “And then?”, Lance asked, “Are you going to lock him up? Because that worked so well last time...”. The last part of the sentence was nothing more than a murmur but Lotor heard a faint ‘He has a point’ from somewhere in the room. The black paladin furrowed his brows slightly, probably thinking about what to answer to that.

“We’ll see afterwards.”, he ended up saying, squeezing Lance’s shoulder for a moment before looking at the princess. She nodded and moments later Lotor found himself being guided through the ship’s corridors, flanked by the black paladin and the princess, who looked calmer but still nothing but distrustful of him.

 

 

 

They weren’t buying him not being here to spy on Voltron, no matter how ridiculous of a plan that would’ve been. How exactly had Lotor been supposed to know that the paladins would be on the ship that very moment? And would save him? The black paladin looked a little unsure about it but the princess was having none of it. She was sure he came here on purpose, had somehow brainwashed Lance to help him or something. Lotor had to bite his tongue to not show how offended he was by that accusation.

“Did you see who stabbed you? As far as we’re informed we were the only intruders on that ship.” “It was no intruder. I was set up, it had been a trap from the very beginning...”. The black paladin arched an eyebrow, waiting for Lotor to elaborate. Lotor sighed, leaning back in his chair a little. He said: “It was Zarkon’s witch. She was the one who asked me to come that day, she started some senseless fight with me, distracted me...”, he shook his head. He still couldn’t quite believe he didn’t notice before, couldn’t believe he actually gave her satisfaction of looking surprised when the pain hit him. Shiro furrowed his brows while listening to him, not quite sure what to make of the new information. The princess was quicker to recover: “Your the son of the emperor, why would she do such a thing?”, she asked, obviously not believing a single word coming from Lotor. Lotor sighed. He knew that that question would come up and he knew that it was pretty much impossible to prove what he was about to answer.

“That doesn’t really matter. My father and she were trying to get rid of me the moment they realised I’m not like him.”, he said, running a hand through his hair before continuing, “And since many in the Empire found me not being full Galra enough of a reason to eliminate me it wouldn’t take too much to go through with it. I guess now they finally decided it was too much.”. They both stared at him, the princess unimpressed and Shiro sceptical. The princess went back to question him, clearly not buying what Lotor said. The black paladin on the other hand seemed to be at least considering it.

Lotor had no idea how long he’d been answering the very same questions. He was exhausted, his throat sore from talking too much without drinking anything. How long had he been in that pod without drinking? Lotor sighed, looking up at the angry princess who was asking about his father’s plans yet again. She wasn’t going to take “I don’t know more” as an answer, was she? He was feeling dizzy and ran a hand through his hair. Or tried, the handcuffs made it a little difficult. The black paladin was standing next to her, observing Lotor. He looked like he was sorry for him. Maybe Lotor looked as bad as he felt.   

“Allura, we should call it a day.”, the paladin said finally, making Lotor look up, hopeful. “He hasn’t said anything yet!”, the princess exclaimed, sounding far too awake after hours of just asking the same questions. “Well, we can just continue tomorrow. If he just falls asleep he won’t be giving us any information.”, the paladin said calmly. Allura stared at Lotor angrily for another minute before saying: “Where is he staying? We can’t let him escape, Shiro.”.

Lotor really didn’t think of going anywhere anytime soon, but she wouldn’t believe him anyways so he kept that to himself. The paladin – Shiro – thought for a moment. By now Lotor wouldn’t even mind being put in a cell as long as it meant he would finally be out of this room. “Let him stay with Lance. It’s easier to keep an eye on him if he’s close by instead of locked up.”, he ended up saying. Lotor raised an eyebrow at that, making a mental note to ask Lance about that ‘last time’ he mentioned earlier. Allura didn’t look too happy with the suggestion, but didn’t seem to have a better idea, so she nodded. Or maybe they had had that discussion already before.

“Get up.”, Shiro said, looking at Lotor. Latter did as he was told, holding up his still handcuffed hands and looking at the two others quizzically. Shiro nodded, finally freeing Lotor’s wrists from the handcuffs. Allura didn’t intervene but simply left the room. Shiro gave Lotor a last look, mumbling: “Let’s go.”, before guiding Lotor out the door.

To both of their surprise, Lance was actually waiting outside the interrogation room already. Shiro walked up to him, saying something Lotor didn’t quite catch, before giving Lotor a last (warning?) look and retreating, leaving the prince alone with Lance. Latter looked in Lotor’s direction as soon as Shiro’s steps stopped being audible, grinning: “So, did you just narrate every single day you lived up until now or how did that take so long?”. Lotor laughed: “If it wouldn’t be for Shiro it’d still be going.”, running a hand through his hair he added, “I do hope you did not wait here the whole time for me.”. Lance chuckled: “Not quite. Well, are you hungry? I asked Hunk to save some food for you.”. “I’m more thirsty than anything, but certainly wouldn’t mind some food.”, Lotor answered, smiling. “Perfect!”, came the answer and Lance started to walk, gesturing Lotor to follow him.

 

“I’m sorry for all of this.”, Lance said, putting the plate of food at the table Lotor had sat himself. Putting his empty glass down, Lotor looked at his food, saying: “It’s not your fault. And also it’s understandable that they wouldn’t trust me right away.”. The scent of the food was amazing and made Lotor realise how hungry he actually was. It didn’t smell or look like anything he knew, but he decided to just trust Lance with this and start eating. He was positively surprised. Lance had mentioned his friend who liked cooking a lot, but Lotor couldn’t remember the last time he ate something tasting quite this good.

“You definitely weren’t exaggerating when you talked about your friend being an outstanding chef.”, Lotor said after finishing eating. Lance grinned: “You should tell Hunk himself. I bet he’d be happy to hear you liked his cooking.” “I’ll try to remember that, then.”, Lotor smiled. Lance seemed to be thinking about something. “So...I guess I won’t show you around today, it’s quite late. And you are probably tired, too. Let’s just call it a day?”. Lotor nodded, saying: “That sounds like a good plan.”, and got up from the table. Lance left the kitchen followed by Lotor.

“Welcome to my room!”, Lance exclaimed, opening the door to the room they came to a stop before. Lotor smiled, entering the room and looking around. It looked like Lance had cleaned up, the whole room looking weirdly tidy, but still distinctively like Lance’s room, even though Lotor couldn’t really tell what it was that reminded him of the smaller man.

 

 

Half an hour later, Lotor sat down on the bed, running a hand through his still damp hair, looking at Lance who was sitting at the other end of the bed, back against the wall. Lance looked pensive and Lotor couldn’t keep himself from leaning forward and running a finger over Lance’s forehead, smoothing the lines that always appeared whenever Lance was lost in thoughts. The smaller man jumped at the sudden touch, making Lotor chuckle: “I’m sorry, but if you’re not careful those will stay.”. Lance blushed lightly and ran his hand through his hair, mumbling: “Sorry, I was just...wondering.”, “About?”, Lotor asked.

Lance sat up straighter, rubbing the back of his head: “Well, I might’ve tried to find out something about you after I left.”, Lotor cocked an eyebrow at that but didn’t interrupt. Lance already looked uncomfortable enough. “Well...is it true that you’re half-Galra?”, Lance finished, an interesting mixture of relieve, panic and curiosity on his face. Lotor smiled at that. How long had that been on his mind? “Yes, I am.”, Lotor answered. “What about the other half?”, Lance blurted out, all the nervousness disappearing out of his voice, only leaving his curiosity. “The other half is Altean.”, Lotor answered, amused by how Lance’s jaw dropped at that. “Altean?”, Lance exclaimed, clearly having a hard time wrapping his head around that new information. Soon his brows furrowed again though, as if he was trying to imagine something. He was clearly having a hard time and Lotor chuckled: “What are you brooding over now?”, he asked.

“I-I’m trying to imagine...how that’d look...”, Lance mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, covering an embarrassed expression with a – still obviously nervous – grin, his cheeks turning pink. Lotor smiled, answering in a softer voice: “Well, you should maybe use the working senses you have left to get a picture.”. Lance looked at him, utterly confused and Lotor shuffled closer, taking Lance’s hands into his own and bringing them to his face. The shorter man froze for a moment, looking slightly panicked for a moment. Lotor sighed at the warm hands on his cheeks, squeezing them slightly, closing his eyes for a moment. He could hear Lance’s breathing, could feel Lance’s fingers timidly running over his face.

Lotor let go of Lance’s hand, leaning into the touch of those incredibly soft hands, sighing. So warm. The hands were slowly starting to move, feeling his face, tracing his cheekbones gingerly. “No fur...”, Lance mumbled. Lotor smiled, his eyes still closed: “No, just got the purple skin.”. There was a small pause before Lance continued, cupping Lotor’s cheeks and running his thumbs over the skin under his eyes: “Well, whatever colour it is you have to show me your skin routine, this is the smoothest skin I ever touched!”. Lotor chuckled, mumbling: “If I remember correctly, you’re doing quite well with your own skin care...” “I’m glad you noticed, though I’m sure we could still learn a few tricks from each other.”, Lance grinned, carefully running his fingers over Lotor’s closed eyes, tracing the long lashes with his fingers. “Are your eyes Galra or Altean...?”, he asked, fingers wandering up to find Lotor’s eyebrows. Curiosity was clear in his voice and Lotor couldn’t suppress a light chuckle before answering: “Both.”, he answered, eyes fluttering open to see Lance’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “They’re yellow where Altean eyes are white, but have a blue iris and a pupil.”, Lotor continued, watching Lance’s face go from confused to surprised. “That sounds...interesting.”, Lance said, tilting his head slightly. Lotor laughed a little at that, making Lance’s cheeks darken slightly. Lance’s fingers wandered back down, following Lotor’s nose.  Lotor wrinkled his nose at the sensation, drawing a chuckle from Lance. “Ticklish?”, Lance asked, his fingers wandering further down, ghosting over Lotor’s lips. Latter closed his eyes again, sighing and enjoying the tender touches.

Suddenly, Lance stopped. Lotor opened one eye, confused. Lance looked like he’d just realised something, his hands wandering to Lotor’s head, running through his hair. His face fell. “No fluffy ears?”, he said, close to pouting. Laughing, Lotor answered: “I have to disappoint you. The ears are altean.”. Lance was laughing too, combing one hand through Lotor’s hair. “Well, I guess they couldn’t have felt softer than this anyways. What do you even do to get it like this?”, he said between chuckles. Lotor leaned into the touch, chuckling: “I just take good care of it.”.

They sat in silence, Lance playing with Lotor’s hair. Lotor nearly forgot how weirdly comfortable it could be, sitting in silence with Lance.

“We should probably go to sleep.”, Lance mumbled after a few more minutes, letting go of Lotor’s hair. Lotor nodded, getting up from the bed to let Lance lie down, getting into bed right afterwards. Lying down just made him realise how exhausted he was. He sighed, closing his eyes. Lance shuffled closer, tentatively. Lotor smiled slightly, pulling Lance closer and running a hand through his short hair. Smiling, Lance buried his face in Lotor’s arm. He had missed this. Sighing, Lotor buried his face in Lance’s hair. He had missed _him_. A lot.

 

 

Lotor woke up to the sound of running water. He looked around, confused, wondering where he even was. He rubbed his eyes, taking in his surroundings, mind slowly clearing from the fog of sleep. The door to the bathroom opened, drawing Lotor’s gaze to it. Lance. He was in Lance’s room, he remembered. Said man came out of the bathroom, hair slightly damp and dressed in a beautiful blue robe. Lotor took in the sight, humming appreciatively. “Oh, you awake?”, Lance said, making Lotor look up.

 “I am”, Lotor mumbled, looking at Lance’s milky eyes. So very difficult to read. “How have you been?”, he asked softly, running a hand through his hair. A shadow passed over Lance’s face, gone in a blink of an eye. He walked up to the bed, answering: “I’ve been quite well. Continued training so I could be of some help.”. The end of the sentence was nothing but a mumble, but Lotor still caught it. Deciding to not press him now, he got up from the bed, forcing a smile into his voice: “Really? I’d like to see your progress, then.”. A grin played on Lance’s lips, his face lighting up again: “Okay, I hope we’ll get some time for that after breakfast or something.”. Lotor smiled at that, getting ready to leave.

 

 

When they arrived there was only one paladin sitting at the table, eating something that Lotor had never seen before that gave off a sweet scent. “Tried something new, Hunk?”, Lance said, sniffing the air and sitting down next to Hunk. Latter looked up, mumbling a ‘Good morning’ and passing Lance and Lotor a plate each when latter sat down next to Lance. Lotor nodded and thanked him but Lance seemed to be busy smelling his breakfast. His face lit up with what Lotor guessed was a realisation before he looked in Hunk’s direction, a smile on his lips: “Were you trying to go for something like pancakes?”, he asked, starting to take a bite of his breakfast. Hunk simply nodded only to notice seconds later that that wouldn’t suffice: “I mean...yes, I was...feel like it didn’t quite turn out like I wanted to.”, he added quickly, watching Lance eat. Lance shrugged: “I think it still tastes amazing. What do you think, Lotor?”, he said. Lotor had been too busy following their conversation to actually start eating, but now finally ate a bite. Hunk was looking at him with a mix of distrust and curiosity, his body language tense as if he expected Lotor to attack him any moment. Lotor hold his gaze, savouring the food slowly. His eyes widened in surprise. It was even better than the dinner the night before. “It’s amazing!”, he blurted out, eating another bite. Lance grinned: “See? It’s good, no worries.”. Hunk looked rather surprised, still unsure. Lotor smiled at him, nodding in agreement. The smile Hunk gave him as an answer still was a little suspicious and Lotor gave a smile nod before going back to enjoying his meal. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hunk struggling to not help Lance whenever he didn’t quite manage to get the fork into his food. Hunk looked more frustrated than Lance, biting his lip and clutching his own fork. Lotor wondered how hard it had been for Lance’s friends to adapt to this. Probably not much easier than for Lance himself.

They ate in silence until Lance suddenly looked up, listening. Hunk and Lotor both looked at him first, then both followed Lance’s eyes to the door. A moment later Lotor heard steps and the door opened. Through it came what Lotor guessed was the red paladin, from what Lance had told him. Lance had mentioned – rather proudly – how he was quite a bit taller than him. He looked over to them with a slight nod for a greeting. His eyes fell on Lance and he seemed to remember something: “Right, Lance? Are you still up for some training after breakfast?”, he said, taking a drink from a cupboard on the other side of the room. Lance looked confused for a moment before realisation hit him and he answered: “Oh! Right, I nearly forgot...thanks for reminding me, yes I’m up for it!”. A slight grin pulled at his lips and the red paladin smiled back for a moment. “Okay, just stop by whenever you’re done. I’ll go on ahead.”, he said, his eyes wandering to Lotor. He didn’t quite look as worried about his presence as Hunk, but certainly wary. Lance nodded as an answer, going back to finish his breakfast while the red paladin left the room again, waving as he went through the door.

 

A couple of minutes later Lance was walking to the training area, Lotor in tail. When they arrived, the red paladin – Keith, Lance had called him – was just finishing sparring with what Lotor guessed were training robot of some sorts. He looked up, probably having heard the door open. “You sure took your time.”, he said, putting his sword away. His eyes landed on Lotor, asking: “You gonna watch?”. Lotor nodded as an answer, leaning against the wall. “Well, he might make for a good sparring partner for you...but first it’s my turn!”, Lance said, a wide grin on his lips that had something challenging as he approached Keith. Lotor snickered at that, not missing the curiosity flashing in the red paladin’s eyes as Lance mentioned him being a good sparring partner.

Lance had improved. He seemed to have an easier time to focus and tried to not get easily distracted. His friend wasn’t going easy on him, his movements quick and precise but Lance was holding up quite well. He didn’t seem to get to counter-attack very often, but he definitely got better at avoiding his opponent’s hits and kicks, his body moving fluidly with a certain elegance Lotor was surprised to see. The last time he had seen him trying to dodge Lotor’s own attacks, it had still been clumsy, the tip of his tongue sticking out in concentration, his forehead scrunched.  Most of that uncertainty had disappeared from his movements now, his tongue was still sticking out slightly but there was a light smile on his face. He looked like he was enjoying himself. He looked like he was dancing, moving to a tune only he could hear. It was rather mesmerizing to watch.

Lotor had no idea how long he had watched them before they stopped both coming over to him, and Lotor gave them the two bottles that had been standing next to him. Keith nodded thanks and took a long sip; Lance thanked him with a bright smile but stopped his hand before the bottle reached his lips. “So, what do you think? Wasn’t I awesome?”, he grins, before finally started drinking. Lotor saw the red paladin roll his eyes and Lotor chuckled: “Yes, I’m impressed. Definitely improved since the last time I saw you.”. Lance’s grin widened as he ran a hand through his hair that was sticking to his forehead. “Wanna go next?”, Lance said after another sip of his drink, looking in Lotor’s direction. Lotor nods, looking at Keith: “Well, if your friend doesn’t mind?”. It was more of a question directed to the red paladin, who was now drying his hair with a towel. He shrugged, mumbling: “Sure, I’ve been here for quite some time, I’ll take a break.”.

 

Anticipation was clear in Lance’s face, a wide grin grazing his features, as they circled each other and Lotor couldn’t help but return his grin. Lotor waited, wanting to force Lance to attack for once. And he did, but it was a bit too obvious, so Lotor had no problem in blocking him. The kick that followed wasn’t quite as obvious, but Lotor still managed to sidestep it, and soon enough they were both caught up in the fight. From up close Lotor could see that Lance’s brows were furrowed slightly in concentration, but his lips were still pulled up in a slight grin. He was focused, but seemed to still have fun. Lotor smiled, thinking back at how stressed he used to look when they started training. They were just getting warm when a voice Lotor had been dreading to hear all day interrupted them. The princess was calling everyone to the bridge to go over some mission details and Lance and Lotor stopped to listen, both panting. “Guess we’ll have to continue some other time...”, Lance mumbled, picking his bottle up and taking a sip. Keith was holding another bottle out for Lotor and he walked up to the red paladin and took it, thanking him. “I’d like to fight you, too, next time.”, Keith said, his eyes shining slightly. Lotor smiled and answered: “Sure.”, brining the bottle to his lips and drinking.

 

“Maybe he could help, even if it’s just about some general thing considering the ships. We didn’t get all the information we wanted during our last mission...”,  Shiro said, looking at Allura’s sceptical face. She didn’t look impressed. “We can’t trust him.”, she said coldly. The black paladin shook his head: “I’m not saying we should, it’s still up to us if we actually consider what he tells us for the mission.”, Shiro answered calmly. He looked at the other paladins who had been watching the conversation, glancing warily at Lotor from time to time. A silent conversation seemed to be going on between the paladins. Lance tensed up next to Lotor, his brows furrowing slightly.

Apparently most of them seemed to agree with the black paladin. Or at least that’s how Lotor interpreted it after finding himself in the room, looking at map of the Galra ship team Voltron was planning to get information out of. He studied the plan they had devised and listened to their explanation before giving his opinion on it. Strategizing had always been something he enjoyed a lot and had missed doing. His audience looked sceptical, but at least they were listening.

They ended up giving him a chance and actually considered some of his changes when they went on the mission a few hours later. Lance and Hunk stayed behind with the Alteans as backup and ended up following the mission from the control room. Lotor stayed with them, sitting beside Lance and hoping nothing unexpected would happen on the Galraship because he didn’t feel like being locked up somewhere, which is probably what would happen. He wasn’t the only one who was tense about it; everybody seemed to feel somewhat uneasy about this situation. Nobody talked, except to the group on the mission when needed.

When the three paladins came back in one piece, saying everything went smoothly, Lotor released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Nobody tried to stop him and Lance when latter took his hand to finally show him around the ship.

 

The ship was so big Lotor just ended up being even more impressed by Lance finding his way around it. He sometimes stopped for orientation and they did get lost a couple of times, but overall Lotor was impressed. The ship was fascinating, too, though. The architecture was different from everything Lotor had seen before and he took his time to take it all in, not really paying attention to the turns they were taking. He probably wouldn’t find his way around on his own but he was still supposed to walk around on his own anyways. And Lance seemed to do quite well.

They walked around for the rest of the day, even though Lance supposedly only showed him the most important places. Both went straight to bed after dinner but neither of them was sleeping. “Today went quite well, don’t you think...?”, Lance whispered, rolling unto his side so Lotor could hear him properly. Lotor shifted to look at Lance and smiled, answering: “Yes, it definitely went better than expected.”. Lance’s hand found its way to Lotor’s head, fingers gently running through the soft strands of hair. A satisfied sigh left Lotor as he closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against Lance’s. Soft fingers traced Lotor’s ear, drawing something close to a purr from the taller male.

Lance chuckled: “Cute.”. Lotor’s cheeks darkened and he opened his eyes, looking straight into the pale blue of Lance’s eyes and his breath caught in his throat. Lance’s fingers stopped, cocking his eyebrow in question, a grin playing at his lips. Slowly, Lotor’s hand found its way to Lance’s cheek, his thumb tracing Lance’s grin. Mesmerized, Lotor’s watched as Lance’s cheeks darkened. Lance’s fingers ran down Lotor’s cheek, thumb carefully following his lips, leaning a little bit closer. Lotor hesitated for a moment before closing the gap between them by pressing his lips to Lance’s. It was quick, only a peck and Lotor pulled back a little, looking at Lance’s face, worried. Or that had been the plan. Instead, Lance refused to let him go, his hand going to the back of Lotor’s head to keep him in place as he kissed back. Lotor could feel his face heating up, a little surprised for a moment.

Lance pulled back just enough to tilt his head to look up at Lotor, cheeks red and a shy smile on his lips. “I missed you...”, he said, running his fingers over Lotor’s jaw. Lotor smiled, pressing his lips to Lance’s forehead, mumbling: “I missed you, too.”. He hugged Lance a little closer to himself, letting him bury his face in Lotor’s chest and hiding his own face in Lance’s soft hair. They didn’t exchange any more words, listening to the other’s breathing until drifting into sleep.

 

 

Nobody seemed to have searched for Lotor while he had been on this ship so they assumed that the Galran Empire thought him dead. After going over all of that in another tedious questioning – this time with all the paladins present – they all decided that it’d be for the best to keep it that way. Lotor told them all the same he had previously explained to the black paladin and the princess and was met with mixed reactions. While the yellow paladin nearly looked a little shocked, the green one managed to look even more suspicious after hearing about Zarkon’s witch supposedly luring him into a trap to get him killed. But nobody started another discussion about it. They probably all knew that, for now, neither side could be proven right or wrong.

 

So they kept the current arrangement. Lotor wasn’t allowed to walk around unsupervised and usually just stuck to following Lance around. When latter was on a mission he stayed behind with the Alteans, mostly in heavy silence with them shooting him suspicious glances. He was far too used to these kinds of situations to really be bothered by it anymore.

Since he was stuck on the ship and couldn’t help the paladins with their missions, he helped with the planning stage the best he could. Outside of that, he didn’t interact a whole lot with the other paladins besides Lance.

“They still avoid you.”, Lance exclaimed, letting himself fall unto the bed where Lotor was currently sitting, a book in his hand. He had just taken a shower after a rather long training session and was now looking at the ceiling, sighing deeply. Lotor chuckled: “It’s understandable. Also, Keith keeps joining us for training, that’s a starter, right?”. Lance propped himself up on his elbows, moving his head into Lotor’s direction, something close to a pout on his face and mumbling: “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting him of all people to be the one to get used to this the quickest...”. “Come here.”, Lotor answered smiling and touched Lance’s shoulder lightly. He waited for the latter to sit up and make himself comfortable on the bed in front of Lotor before starting to smooth down Lance’s slightly damp hair with his long fingers.

There was a moment of silence while Lance melted into the sensation of Lotor’s fingernails softly running over his scalp.

“Also, I think Hunk is starting to get a bit more relaxed when we end up meeting him when getting breakfast. And well, Shiro’s been wary but polite since the beginning, I guess.”, Lotor added softly. He didn’t really understand why Lance got so worked up about the others being tense around Lotor. In Lotor’s perspective that only made sense. Lance, however, disagreed: “I don’t know...like, I’m not asking for them to trust you unconditionally but...I still think that by now they could be a little more relaxed, no?” “You can’t just expect them to let their guard down like that, Lance.”, Lotor answered calmly, running a finger over Lance’s cheek.

Lance leaned into the touch for a moment, before straightening up again and bringing his knees close to his body. “I might just be tired of all this tension. It’s enough to have to be so careful outside, having this atmosphere here, too, is just...exhausting.”, he mumbled, propping his chin up on his knees. Lotor looked at him. Lance looked tired and Lotor knew it wasn’t only from their practise earlier.

It hadn’t taken very long for him to understand that Lance was tired of all the fighting. In fact, most of the people on the ship seemed to be. Even the Alteans were getting fed up with the ongoing war that didn’t really seem to go anywhere. And those didn’t have a family to go back to like most of the paladins had. Lance had told him that the paladins ending up piloting the lions had not been something any of them had signed up for, so sometimes he would wish it never happened only to scold himself from thinking so selfishly a moment later.

Lotor sighed, moving closer to Lance and putting an arm around him. “I can’t really blame them for being tense. Lately the fighting has just been getting worse and everybody is stressed...”, he said, rubbing soothing circles into Lance’s back. Latter leaned into Lotor, mumbling: “I know...I’m not blaming them, it’s just...I need a break. We all do. I wanna go home.”. The last part was barely a whisper but Lotor had heard him say that before enough times to pick it up. He tightened his grip around Lance, pulling him into a hug, running his fingers through Lance’s short hair. He didn’t know what to say to him in these situations. He had no idea how it felt to yearn for home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I would take eons...
> 
> Well, it did turn out longer and I do hope you still had a nice read! I have one more chapter planned (which will probably take ages again, so uh...sorry in advance) and well, let's see how it goes.


End file.
